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Here are few tricks for diabetics to tackle this summer

Posted on: 27/Mar/2014 3:55:13 PM

Summer has begun and the temperature this time is increasingly higher compared to the past years. Increasing sunburns, exhaustion and dehydration are evident of the burning heat across the city. While managing heat is tough for even youngsters and adults, sufferings of diabetics are much worse. Just out of fear of this summer, you cannot plan everything indoor. You will obviously have to get out of your house for varied reasons. Know your summer diabetes management technique and cope up this summer. Here are some of the key tricks you can practice:

Keep your body hydrated:

Your summer diabetes management should have body hydration in the first place. According to most diabetes educators, dehydration in diabetic patients can become a serious issue over a course of time. Getting dehydrated without proper intake of water will contribute to increase in blood sugar level. At the worst condition, the patient may even fall to death. Avoid getting into such life-threatening scenarios by consuming water at regular time intervals.

Carry a bottle full of fresh drinking water at your workplace or wherever you go. Try avoiding caffeinated or sweetened drinks like soda, sweet tea, lemonade, etc. Those who are advised to restrict their water intake due to other health ailments like heart disease should however consult the doctor before getting into the practice of increased water intake.

Stay in a cool place:

Avoid being under the hot sun and stay in a cool place - in an air conditioned room or under shade. Exposing your body to very high temperatures will increase stress levels. Try finishing your outdoor works before the hot sun peeps out or after it gets set in the evening.

Just like maintaining yourself cool, keep your medicines – insulin, test strips and other diabetes supplies – in a cool, dry place. Leaving them inside your car or other hot place will spoil the product. If you want the medicines carried with you during travel, place them inside a cooler and take it. It will keep it chilled.

Use sunscreen lotions:

When you intake medicines for diabetes, you eventually become sensitive to sun. Hence, it is advisable to use sunscreen lotions with SPF 30. This will protect you from UVA and UVB rays. A single application of sunscreen will withstand only for two or three hours. So, carry the lotion with you in case of a prolonged travel or extensive outdoor work. Reapply the cream or lotion when you be under sun for more hours.

Aloe Vera is a very good naturally available product that can treat your sunburns. It helps in soothing a moisturizing your skin. Any crack, sunburn or infection can be easily cured using Aloe Vera.

Protect your feet:

This is one of the most common mistakes uttered by almost everyone. It is absolutely essential for one to protect their toes, especially during summer days. Using flip-flops or open-toed shoes will help protect feet. Your foot will develop blisters or wounds when you wear tightly fitting foot wears. Though these are very minor troubles for the commons, cases of diabetics are not so. Make yourself comfortable by wearing shoe of perfect size and stay away from getting blisters or cuts.

Get into a regular practice of exercising:

Managing your diabetes requires regular exercise. A minimum of 150 minutes of exercise is a must every week. However, physician or the doctor should be consulted before getting into such a regular practice of exercise.

Control your diet:

Summer tempts you to enjoy a family trip or picnic to a beautiful place. This brings with it a bundle of joy as well as risk on your diet. As you get together with family, you tend to get excited to have more delicious food. Watch your food intake and monitor what you eat every day. You can get healthy food items and snacks packed for your picnic. This will keep you away from getting tempted to have high calorie eateries during the trip.

Do not get exhausted:

Make sure that you do not get exhausted and fall dizzy. Excessive sweating, muscle cramps, rapid heartbeat, etc are signs of overheated body. Try to overcome these with plenty of water intake. If it doesn’t work out well, check with your physician.

Follow the above tricks and stay healthy this summer. It is after all good health that matters at the end of the day! 

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